The word ‘predictable’ has not been synonymous with the 2021/22 National Football League (NFL) regular season, but last weekend (Week 14) may have been the most predictable so far. Most teams that were expected to win didn’t disappoint, but that doesn’t mean the weekend was devoid of excellent gridiron entertainment.

The marquee matchups lived up to the billing as the Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Football Team divisional encounter at FedEx Field turned out to be a nail-biter, the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers were pushed to overtime by the Buffalo Bills and one of the most storied rivalries in the NFL was renewed on Lambeau Field between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears last Sunday night.

Visiting quarterback (QB) Dak Prescott threw two interceptions but somehow navigated the Cowboys past Washington for a much-needed win. In a game where Cowboys’ jerseys in the stands appeared to outnumber that of the home team, the visitors built up a 24-0 first-half lead and held off some second-half heroics from their opponents for the 27-20 score line.

The Cowboys (9-4) will visit another division rival this weekend in the New York Giants (4-9) as their frantic run to the play-offs gets off the mark. If the Cowboys win this and just one other game of the final four regular season games, they will eliminate Washington (who they play again on December 26) whose best possible win records is 10 (if they win all four remaining games). And, if one of those two Cowboys wins is over the Philadelphia Eagles (in the season finale), then the Eagles can’t get to 11 wins either. This Sunday afternoon should see another road win for the Cowboys.

Washington (6-7) will visit Philadelphia (6-7) at the same time on Sunday and this may prove to be a battle royale as both teams still have playoff ambitions. The Eagles are at home and are expected to use this advantage to carve out a win.

The Buccaneers constructed a 24-3 half-time lead against the Bills last Sunday afternoon and appeared to be on their way to a blowout victory – Bills’ QB Josh Allen and his offense had other ideas. Allen orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback to tie the score at 27-27 and force overtime after the Buccaneers managed only three points in the second half. However, the wind was quickly taken out of the Buffalo sails following a 58-yard touchdown pass by QB Tom Brady to receiver Breshad Perriman in overtime for the walk-off, 33-27 win.

Brady, who holds almost every positive QB record in the NFL, entered the game needing 18 completions to pass Drew Brees’ record and ended with 31 to push the record to 7,156 and the touchdown toss to Perriman for the win, marked his 700th career passing touchdown (regular season and playoffs combined).

Brady and the Buccaneers (10-3) are now 6-0 at home and will welcome the New Orleans Saints (6-7) into Raymond James Stadium for this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football to see if they can keep that record intact. The Saints will be looking to build on last week’s 30-9 win over the New York Jets but should be fighting an uphill battle against their opponents’ four-game win streak and the ominous home-win record – it’s hard to see the visitors coming up with a victory.

The Bills (7-6) are much better than their record suggests and have the Carolina Panthers (5-8) this Sunday afternoon. They are expected to bounce back with a home win to revive their season in time for a play-off run.

The Chicago players walked into Green Bay with their chests puffed, obviously riled by the “I own you” utterance of Green Bay’s QB Aaron Rodgers following the Packers’ 24-14 victory on October 17. And for the first half of the game, they played inspired football. The Bears registered the first punt return for a touchdown of the NFL season in the first half and combined with the Packers for a 24-21 second quarter – the second-highest scoring quarter in the history of the rivalry – leading to a 27-21 Chicago half-time lead. However, the Chicago sideline was soon deflated minutes into the second half when Rodgers started syncing with receiver Davante Adams as AJ Dillon dominated the run game.

The Bears managed just three points in a one-sided second half as they watched the Packers run away with the 45-30 win. Rodgers finished with 341 passing yards (plus four touchdowns) and will lead Green Bay (10-3) into M&T Bank Stadium to face the banged-up Baltimore Ravens (8-5) late Sunday afternoon. The Packers’ offense is now averaging 37.3 points per game in the last three weeks and the Ravens’ defense is battered and bruised while the Packers defense looks primed and ready to be able to shut down a hobbled Lamar Jackson at the QB position (if he plays) or the backup Tyler Huntley – expect the Packers to extend their impressive five-game win streak this Sunday.

The picture of consistency (the New England Patriots) enjoyed their bye last weekend and, with all byes now out of the way, every team will play every week for the remaining four weeks of the regular season. With the top-10 teams in the American Football Conference (AFC) within three games of each other and the top-6 in the National Football Conference (NFC) within arm’s reach, the closing four weeks will have serious play-off implications – It will be intense!

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